"A great victory" and a "pivotal point for Lebanon" — that was how Naim Kassem, the leader of Lebanese group Hezbollah, described on Wednesday the memorandum of understanding that stopped fighting between Iran and the US this week.
Kassem also thanked the Iranians for "linking the Lebanese arena" to the deal and "forcing Israel to stop its aggression."
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 with support from Iran, and one of its primary aims then was to end Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. It has both a military and political wing and the support of much of Lebanon's Shiite Muslim community. Today it plays a major part in Lebanese society and politics, has often been described as a "state within a state," and remains opposed to Israel.
Since Kassem's comments, fighting has continued in southern Lebanon, with Hezbollah targeting Israeli soldiers and Israel continuing to destroy southern villages and use bombs and drones. Sixty days of talks between the US and Iran, during which details would be hammered out, were due to start in Switzerland on Friday but were postponed in the morning because of Iran's opposition to the fighting in Lebanon.
Yet, despite it's troubled start, analysts say that the deal on the table favors Hezbollah's allies in Tehran. How 'great' a victory for Hezbollah?
